Gear advice for South Africa

<p>I will be traveling to South Africa this June for the football World Cup and would like some general advice from travelers that been there. I will be mainly visiting city center such as Johannesburg and Cape Town. Most photographs will be football related and city scapes along with city night life. I will probably not do much wild life. I currently have:</p>

<p>7D, ef-s 10-22 and ef-s 17-55 IS. I have what I believe is all the accessories I need such a tripod, 430Ex, 580Ex, canon timer remote release, etc... Of course the idea is to pack light and will only take a few things but I feel that I need more glass. I will pack my camera in a think tank UB 50 along with the lenses, one 430EX, a macbook pro, 3 7D batteries, 52GB worth of compact flash memory, a geo tracker and that is it. I have about 600 dollars to spend on glass, What should I get? my options;</p>

<p>For a prime to use for available light : ef 50mm f1.4, sigma 30mm f1.4, ef 28mm f1.8, ef 35mm f2. I would like to stay away form the sigma since it is for aps-c only, but I've read good things about it. I have used 50mm prime before with aps-c, so I know I will like the range and inclining more towards the ef 50mm f1.4. Also giving thought to selling the 17-55 and purchasing a 24-70L.</p>

<p>For a telephoto zoom: I just sold a 70-200 f2.8L, since I found it to be quite short for wild life and mostly used as a portrait lens which I rarely take portraits and almost never used the lens. I am thinking of renting or buying an ef 70-300mm IS. eventually I will want to buy the 100-400L(rented and liked a lot but too heavy for the trip and very expensive to purchase for me at the moment).<br>

Any advice will be greatly appreciated and I will not consider buying a second body because my friend will actually take a back up since I convinced him to upgrade his 40D to a t2i :).</p>

<p>Regards H.M.</p>

<p>The 70-300 IS seems like a good choice. I assume you'll need telephoto for the World Cup? You could also rent the smaller (though slightly heavier) 70-300 IS DO - it's remarkably compact for the focal length.</p>

<p>I wouldn't trade the 17-55 for a 24-70 L. You'll lose a lot on the wide end for a modest gain on the long end, lose IS and spend money to do it.</p>

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<p>I will be mainly visiting city center such as Johannesburg and Cape Town. Most photographs will be football related and city scapes along with city night life.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>What you need advice about is personal security, not photographic gear.</p>

<p>Of course this will be the football World Cup and I will not be alone in the city center, I just figured the party might be there. I will be where the celebration will be. I've been to more dangerous places before by myself at night. Common sense is the key.</p>

<p>Are you allowd to take that "professional" gear into the stadium?<br>

I never go to soccer games, but at concerts you are not allowed to take anything. I can immagine that at a soccergame they are afraid you'll hit someone on the head with it.. and are not alowed to take it to the games. it will stay in you hotelroom half the time...<br>

I'd go for a nice little compact.. S90 or powershot or G11. But that depends on how many days you'll be photograping, and how many days you'll go to games. And i'd realy think about safety, personal and for your gear. Hotelrooms are not a safe place to store gear.</p>

<p>jan.</p>

 

<p>This might help...<br>

<a onmousedown="return clk(this.href,'','','res','5','','0CBoQFjAE')" href="http://www.sa2010.gov.za/ticket-information/43-stadium-rules">4.3 <em >Stadium Rules</em> | South Africa 2010 Fifa <em >World Cup</em></a></p>

<p>Thanks for that link. This would be my third world cup and not once in all the 5 matches that I've been from tokyo to Munich have the security deny me entry with my dslr and few lenses. Only once I had to speak to head security guard because I had my 70-200L in the back pack. They said the small lenses were ok. That is why I am thinking of taking a 70-300mm IS or if I can the DO version.</p>

<p>Seriously I would be more worried about personal security... you're a prime target if you're gonna walk the streets with your camera and a moderate size lens fitted. People here (I live in SA) get mugged for a cellphone...</p>

<p>I'd take one camera and two lenses, spare batteries and cards, that's it. Last time I was in SA the hotel would not allow me to leave other than by taxi. Not the kind of place I would walk around with an expensive camera on show, and J'burg isn't the city I would walk around in, period.<br>

Neill</p>

<p>For which glass to take to the stadium it will depend on where you are seated for the matches. I would only take a couple of lenses into the stadium, the 10-22 wideangle and a telephoto 70-200 or 70-300 depending on where you are seated. As for security, don't ever be anyplace alone or you will be an easy target. I'm sure the secirity will be beefed up in South Africa during the World Cup and I would recommend being in areas where the security forces are visible. I would not leave any valuables at the hotel while you are away.</p>

Safety and security are serious issues in South Africa, there is absolutely no doubt about it. Still, it's one of the most photographed and, indeed, photogenic countries on the planet and a reasonably smart person will easily find a safe and comfortable way to carry gear. Also, going to a football game is quite different from trying to be a street photographer in downtown Joburg. Do bring wide-angle. This will probably be an usually rewarding sports event visually speaking and some of the action will take place right where you are.

<p>Hernan, the advice for a 70-300 IS seems spot on. Its a good lens and on the cropped sensor will give you great reach. The alternative seems a 100-400 IS, but that is a much bigger lens. That, and one of the fast primes to compliment your slow zooms. Good luck, and have a great trip, it is a beautiful country. Cape Town and its environs are special.</p>

<p>your last name remember me javier mascherano the soccer player from Argentina... are you relatives? hehe...<br>

about the gear, I should bring the 10-22 and a telephoto lens like 70-300 or even a 100-400 for capture field action but not are big enough to be considered a pro like many stadium think when you carrying a SLR!. About security I think it should be like many latin america countries, where you have to be discreet when taking shots at streets, having common sense when and where taking out your gear because the thieves. More police, guards and security would be available for the world cup for sure so use places where they're, also for carrying your gear think about a sling bag or similar than no scream camera gear inside and you can have it in position to avoid pickpocketing...</p>